Millau Viaduct

URL

Where: Crossing the Tarn Valley in the Massif Central, near Millau in southern France.

Stats: 8,100 feet (less than two miles) long; cars travel 885 feet above sea level, but the highest point on the bridge is 1,125 feet.

Awe Factors: Opened in 2004, the bridge was designed, according to its architect Norman Foster, to have the “delicacy of a butterfly.” Seven triangular piers support this 36,000-ton steel bridge that rises above the clouds. Reaching a height just above that of the Eiffel Tower, this is the tallest vehicular bridge in the world. The bridge is best viewed from outside the car—at a designated viewing point at exit 45 off highway A75, and a 30-minute walk uphill.